Is the Dodge Nitro Asexual?


Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zF_YkHFLIA

The new dodge Nitro “planet” ad debuted today, it falls out of the claws of arcane, crashes through the earth’s core, past Easter Island heads, past the layer dinosaurs, next the to core and Satan, and into the middle of China. Its an interesting commercial, I noticed it as one of the more inventive that I’ve seen on prime time TV. So with that, something more exciting is that “commercial will also air in movie theaters and could run in other parts of the world”, a multicultural effort by Dodge will be seen in Japan, South America, just to name a few, says Ad Age. Another very fascinating tidbit is that they are targeting not only the obvious macho male target audience, but a female one, because they buy 58% of all SUVs. Ad Age states that “the seemingly schizophrenic approach is aimed at reaching men while not turning off women; Dodge's five-seat Nitro "is the SUV to which men aspire and women appreciate," Tom Loveless, director-marketing and global communications for the brand, said at a press conference today.”

After doing some of this research, I like their campaign even more because it integrates many different mediums and its global and multi- ethnic. I like that they are choosing to target segments so outwardly schizophrenic that many others would have the balls to do so. Equally dividing the ads to channels and magazines that appeal to men and then others that appeal to women, is very gutsy, in my eyes. Overall, the commercial did make me look up from doing my homework to see what was going on, so I suppose it did its job.

Read what Ad Age said about it:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=113008

Is Lebron Insane, or at least has a Multiple Personality Disorder?

Watch the many sides of Lebron:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHtoF-lMqaA

For the launch of the Zoom Lernon IV performance shoes, (yaddah, yaddah), Nike is bringing back “The Lebrons”. Wise, Business, Kid, and regular, Lebron James are the different personalities of superstar Lebron James. Because last years’ was met with a lot of buzz and “great response from young consumers”, says the Nike press release, they decided to make a sequel.

The Nike press release of this debut explains the different characteristics to each ‘Lebron’:
The personalities are reflective of the depth and dimension of the young James, the sole actor in each spot. Wise is an old-school old-soul living in an environment of youth and hyperactivity. Business is cool, calculating and highly confident. Kid displays the joyful exuberance of a child, while the athlete LeBron James embodies superior physical attributes and talent.

The first of a trio of advertisements for the shoe campaign, finds Wise Lebron sitting poolside, drinking lemonade, and enlightening the water- conditioning Lebron James, with his knowledge. Kid Lebron is getting ready to jump off the high dive and Business Lebron talks on his cell phone and then executes a masterful dive into the pool.


This memorable and newly humorous and over-the-top approach Nike has taken, is a good stab at it. Kind of ‘Shaft’- like, this 60 second spot, it does show the versatility of Lebron’s acting capabilities. The shoe itself was only shown for a couple minute milliseconds, and with this sort of commercial, I felt they should have touched upon that a little more, due to its shallow and surface-skimming concept. I understand that they are trying to showcase Lebron himself, as an athlete, businessman, a child, and a wise person, but it doesn’t hurt for the consumers to see what’s being sold to them.

Although I have seen stronger, deeper connections within a Nike ad, this one doesn’t make me think of a typical Nike spot because there is usually a very noticeable strong current of undertones that relays some sort of tangible, or intangible concept in which it is related to the athlete or a sport. Nike ads usually say something about sports, athletics, or athletes as a whole; they make some unfathomable declarative statement that makes you really feel something about what they are saying you. Even if this ad is geared toward the younger generations, I still feel like it fell short of what the Nike ad standards typically are. It was funny, and stood out enough for me to remember to comment on it, but it was lacking.

Read Nike’s Press Release about the new Debut:
http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/news/pressrelease.jhtml?year=2006&month=10&letter=g
Read about it in the New York Press:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/business/media/31adco.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=technology&adxnnlx=1162842350-9yUvdXSCFa38r17QbJUADg&oref=slogin

Tacoma, the Movie?


Watch the commercial, complements of You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PxLkiqZ1g

Another TV spot that I thought was very much out of the company’s ‘comfort zone’, its obviously eye-catching, but its crossing the fine line of obviously fake, but still humorous, and overtly falsifying and pushing it. These Toyota Tacoma commercials are all along the same lines: the meteor, the Tacoma caught in the surf, and now it takes on Nessie. Don’t get me wrong, stepping outside the box is great, but sometimes, they step in the wrong direction.
The commercial goes: A documentary filmmaker is walking along Loch News, talking about the elusive Nessie, and in the background we see the monster pop out, grab the Tacoma and pull it underwater. Then, after a few seconds, the monster throws the truck back on to land, where it proceeds to just start up again because, Toyota trucks are portrayed as tough and dependable.
The only problem with this is the little disclaimer, “not a demo of Tacoma's performance or crash capabilities”. That ruined it for me and made it like they were really trying to pass this off as realistic footage that would prove its durability. It was just too fake for me, the Toyota I am used to is very straight forward, not a lot of special effects, glitz and glamour. Although it is a highly creative and imaginative ad, which I would have never pinpointed for a Toyota ad in all my life, it didn’t show the car in the light that it should have.

Although I am used to seeing truck commercials that are very ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’, and this is just how i am conditioned, I don’t know if the advertsisg world is ready for that kind of humor. Toyota is too good for that, they are more than just ‘a funny commercial’, they have longevity because they aren’t ‘the company with the funny commerical’. Although I remember it due to its unexpected strangeness, I am not quite sure where they are going with this campaign with Nessie, Meteors, and waves washing the truck into the rocks. All in all, this commercial tells the consumer nothing about the benefits of the car.

Read why AdJab hates it:
http://www.adjab.com/2006/10/30/ads-we-hate-loch-ness-monster-grabs-a-toyota/